


Those Words

by enbyred



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Romance, don't worry the angst isn't bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 06:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17420999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyred/pseuds/enbyred
Summary: Catra and Adora are happy to finally have some time to train together. It leads to an exchange that neither of them expected.





	Those Words

“Too slow!”

Adora’s staff just barely missed Catra and passed by her, bringing Adora falling with it. She hit the floor of the training deck with a thump, and Catra took the opportunity to pause and laugh at her.

“You always do that!” Adora huffed, pushing herself back up. “Just when I’m about to beat you, you move at the last second!”

Catra took a step forward, leaving only an inch of space between them. Her tail swishing, she grinned and said, “If I always do it, then you should expect it by now.”

Letting herself give a sly smile back, Adora replied, “Then you should expect what I’m about to do next.” She moved ever so slightly forward before hooking her foot behind Catra’s and sweeping it out from under her. Before Catra knew it, she was on her back, staring wide-eyed up at a smug Adora who was holding her hand out to help Catra up.

“I _did_ expect it,” Catra insisted, accepting Adora’s help. “I was letting you take me out.”

Adora chuckled and said, “Sure. As long as we both know that I threw you off.”

“Did not!”

She leaped and threw all her weight against Adora, knocking them both down and sending their staffs flying, Catra pinning Adora’s shoulders to the floor and straddling her waist. They giggled for a moment, sparring and staffs forgotten. Catra closed her eyes and leaned her forehead down against Adora’s, drinking in the moment. They didn’t get enough moments together like this anymore. Not since Shadow Weaver had been trying to keep them apart and groom Adora for who-knows-what. Adora had insisted that she needed this time to train, giving the excuse that she felt the need to train against who she considered the cadet who was matched with her in strength. And despite Shadow Weaver’s dislike of Adora’s affection toward Catra, she couldn’t deny her time to increase her skill. And finally, they had a moment to just be together.

“I miss spending time with you like this,” Adora whispered, running her fingers through Catra’s bushy hair.

Catra couldn’t stop the purr that began to roll through her, leaning into Adora’s touch as she muttered, “You don’t have to do everything Shadow Weaver says. We can have more time together if you stop doing everything she tells you to do.” She rolled to the side to lay on the floor next to Adora, releasing her shoulders.

Shaking her head, Adora replied, “You know how badly I want to be a force captain. I have to live by Shadow Weaver’s rules if I ever want to get promoted. Once we all start getting field work, it’s not like she’ll be able to keep us apart anymore.”

Catra and nuzzled her head into the crook of Adora’s neck and sighed, her purring quieting to a stop. “She shouldn’t be able to _now_. We’re not her property, she can’t tell us what to do.” She knew that it was a feeble argument. They’d had this conversation before, and it always ended with Adora deciding to stay as far on Shadow Weaver’s good side as possible. She knew how much being a force captain meant to Adora. But did a promotion mean so much more to her than their relationship did?

“We do what they say for now,” Adora assured, running her fingers affectionately over Catra’s arm. “It doesn’t matter what they do, or what they make us do. Soon, we’ll be the ones in charge. Then they can’t keep us away from each other anymore.”

Some part of her knew that it was true, but she couldn’t shake the feeling in her gut that Adora was lying to her. With how much Shadow Weaver hated her, Catra doubted that she would be getting any promotions high enough to claim she’d be able to call the shots in the Fright Zone any time soon. But as long as Adora was calling her own, it didn’t really matter, did it?

“It doesn’t matter what they do,” she repeated quietly, her eyes closed as she shifted closer to Catra. “It only matters what _we_ do. You and me. That’s all that matters.”

Catra felt her body relax, tension she didn’t know she was holding be dispelled from her. She breathed out, “You promise?” They had exchanged those words more times than they could count, and yet every time it was said, it only reassured both of them of the weight each of them held in the other’s heart.

“I promise.” Adora placed a gentle kiss on Catra’s forehead, eliciting a restart in her purring.

Groaning at the involuntary response, Catra insisted, “You know I hate when you make me purr.”

Adora giggled and replied, “I make you purr all the time, and you love it.”

“I _tolerate_ it,” Catra corrected. “I _love_ you.”

They both froze, completely still against each other, breathing and purring ceased. Those weren’t words people used in the Horde. They’d exchanged promises, they’d exchanged secrets and demonstrations of affection, but those words...they carried so much more weight than either one of them expected.

Now what was going to happen? Would Adora be mad that Catra had broken the unspoken rule not to say those words? Would she be confused? Would she start acting weirdly? Was this going to be the end of them? You couldn’t just s _ay_ those words, not when you live in the Fright Zone. It’s just not okay, and now Adora was going to tell her that she was stupid for loving another person, and that putting so much emotional energy into one person was a waste of energy, and it made her weaker as a soldier - attachments like that made her weak, and sure, they could like each other, but they couldn’t _love_ each other. Love made them vulnerable, it gave them weaknesses, it made them easy to defeat, and the one thing they’d learned again and again and again was that a Horde soldier could not show weakness, and now here she was being weak -

“I love you too.”

Catra choked. She sat up and coughed, backing away from Adora, who propped herself up on her elbows and watched Catra, concern etched into her face.

“You _w_ _hat_? Catra managed between coughs. “No, Adora, you don’t have to say that, I screwed up, I always screw up, you don’t have to say something like that just so you can, what, make me feel like I’m not alone down here in this...this pit I dug myself? No, it was stupid, you don’t need to say it just to make me feel better, you don’t have to protect me all the time you… Ugh.” She buried her blushing face in her hands, unable to meet Adora’s gaze.

“What? Catra, no, it’s not like that.” Adora put a gentle pair of hands on Catra’s wrists to pull her hands away from her face. Catra didn’t resist, but kept her eyes squeezed shut as Adora spoke. “I didn’t say it just because you did, or just to make you feel better. I really do feel that way, Catra. I _love_ you. I don’t care what Shadow Weaver says about love making you weak, or whatever she tries to tell us about it. I don’t think love is a weakness or a fault to have.” She held Catra’s hands tightly. “My love for you is my _strength_.”

Catra hardly had time to process her thoughts before she found her hands breaking out of Adora’s grasp and on either side of her face to bring her closer and press their lips together. Adora squeaked in surprised, but quickly recovered and returned the kiss, cupping Catra’s jaw and letting herself melt into it.

“I’m sorry.” Catra broke the kiss and shifted away from her. “I didn’t mean to do that. I’m sorry.”

“Catra.” The softness in Adora’s voice surprised her, making her look up to meet her eyes. “Stop assuming that I don’t want this too. It’s you and me, Catra. Forever.” She closed her eyes. “I promise.”

Holding tightly onto Adora’s hand, Catra grinned and echoed, “I promise.”


End file.
